Classic and contemporary perspectives link meaning in life to the pursuit of a significant purpose, free from incoherence. The typical assumption is that these meaningful purposes are prosocial, or at least benign. Here, we tested whether hate might also bolster meaning in life, via motivational states underlying significant purpose and coherence. In two studies (N = 847; Study 2 pre-registered), describing hatred (vs. mere dislike) towards collective entities (societal phenomena, institutions, groups), but not individuals, heightened feelings linked to the behavioral approach system (BAS; eagerness, determination, enthusiasm), which underlies a sense of significant purpose, and muted feelings linked to threat and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; confused, uncertain, conflicted), which underlies a sense of incoherence. This high BAS and low BIS, in turn, predicted meaning in life beyond pre-manipulation levels. Exploratory analyses suggested that personal hatreds did not have the meaning-bolstering effects that collective hatreds had due to meaning-dampening negative feelings. Discussion focuses on motivation for collective and ideological hatreds in threatening circumstances.

古典和现代的观点将生命的意义与追求重要的目标联系起来，没有前后矛盾。典型的假设是这些有意义的目的是亲社会的，或者至少是良性的。在这里，我们测试了仇恨是否也可以通过重要目的和连贯性背后的动机状态来增强生活的意义。在两项研究中（N = 847; 研究 2 预注册），描述了对集体实体（社会现象、机构、团体）而非个人的仇恨（与单纯的不喜欢），与行为方法系统（BAS；渴望、决心、热情）相关的情绪增强，其中是一种重要目的感的基础，以及与威胁和行为抑制系统（BIS；困惑、不确定、冲突）相关的无声感觉，这是不连贯感的基础。反过来，这种高 BAS 和低 BIS 预测了超出操纵前水平的生活意义。探索性分析表明，个人仇恨不具有集体仇恨由于抑制意义的负面情绪而产生的意义增强效应。讨论的重点是在威胁情况下集体和意识形态仇恨的动机。